Jan Smuts, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and the Great War in German East Africa

Abstract

The East African Front in the Great War is no longer a forgotten theatre.¹ In recent years works by Hew Strachan, Ross Anderson and Edward Paice have promoted a more sophisticated understanding of the Great War in East Africa.² It is questionable whether it was ever truly ‘forgotten’. The dynamic exploits of the German field commander Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck captured the imagination of the German public at the time and have loomed over the historiography since the war’s closure in November 1918. Feted as an expert in guerrilla warfare and the man who evaded the might of the British Empire until 23 November 1918,12 days after the Armistice, the legend of Lettow has periodically stoked the fires of interest in the campaign.³ Leading a force overwhelmingly composed of regionally recruited ‘native askari’, the German commander fought a campaign that is remarkable for its improvisation and coordination. Nevertheless, as Hew Strachan has recognised, it is one that has largely rested on the false premises that Lettow’s achievements were unique and that his conduct was consistently rooted in the practices of guerrilla warfare.⁴ Conversely, the British conduct has been portrayed as blundering, hamstrung and ill-conceived. This is not a position without merit; indeed, many of the battles were defined by a lack of organisation, poor preparatory measures and strategy.